Two rather sad blog posts in a row. Hopefully a trend that ends NOW. A week ago, one of my favorite animals at Animal Ark passed on. Micah the bobcat was born in 1995 and came to Animal Ark in 2000. In many ways he was a showcase of how having a wild animal for a pet can go wrong. He was raised as a pet, but did not get along with his owner, then was passed around to some other owners before finally coming to Animal Ark.
I met him three years ago and he was one of the first animals I took care of. He always came running to his stump when he heard me coming, and he was always purring and looking for love. He loved most women, but he wasn't too fond of men. He had been declawed before coming to Animal Ark, and he had a lot of trouble with his feet. They caused him some pain, and he walked more on his "ankles" than on the pads of his feet. Most days he would be seen lounging on his log with his feet hanging down.
But he loved to play - sometimes with a pine cone, a potato, or even a pizza box!
What always struck me the most about Micah were his beautiful eyes. They were multicolored, with a depth in them I haven't seen in any other animal.
He really was a funny cat - he liked to be up high and keeping an eye on his visitors. Or, sometimes, not keeping an eye on his visitors….
Anyway, I am going to miss him. He never failed to make me smile, and he was always the first animal I greeted as I started my day at Animal Ark. I'll end with my favorite photo of him - it's just a blurry iPhone shot, but for some reason, I really loved it. I think I just saw his personality in this photo:
